Behind The Mask: Bloody Beetroots

posted by Nicole Mastrogiannis
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3 years ago

Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo aka Bloody Beetroots is easily recognizable from his signature mask, but his unique touch on music and passion for what he does is what makes him so great. He says he likes to "let the music speak," and his most recent album Hide, released this past September, remains true to his train of thought.

Hide includes a number of great original solo productions, as well as features some amazing collaborators including Tommy Lee, Peter Frampton, and the Beatle himself, Sir Paul McCartney. This release definitely raises the musical bar.

Bob stopped by iHeartRadio HQ in New York City, where he told us about his new album, what it was like working with Paul McCartney, why he wears his mask, and more. Check it out below:

What went into you putting together your new album?

A lot. It took a lot of time and energy to really make it the sound that I wanted it to be. I flew all over the world and yeah, I mean did a great job! (laughs)

How long did it take to make?

Two years, and all of the guests were so f***ing awesome to me, so beautiful people.

What was it like to work with Paul McCartney? How did you end up getting together with him?

Being in the studio with Paul McCartney was f***ing incredible. Man it’s Paul McCartney you know, such an iconic figure. Basically I’m a good friend of Youth of Killing Joke and we were producing some stuff in the studio, and he asked me, "Bob are you looking for some new features for your album?" I said ummmm yeah, si, si. Yeah, Paul McCartney! And he said, "yeah I got a project with Paul McCartney it’s called “The Fireman.” I’m gonna send you the stems of a song about a fireman and see what you can do." And if you know me you also know that my [motto] is "destroy to create." And that’s what I did with the song. I recreated all the harmonies and the melodies, and I sent the song to Paul. Paul loved it and then I said "Okay buddy do you think you can rerecord the vocals?" He said, "Yeah yeah, let’s go to my studio." And then we did it. It was incredible, it was cool. He’s a nice boy.

Are you a Beatles fan? Do you have favorite Beatles song?

Yeah, I’m a Beatles fan. "Penny Lane." But I actually like the new song of Paul, like new. That one. That’s f***ing awesome. And he’s still great. I mean, he's 71 years old. He’s on point like – "yeah, I got it!"

Why did you decide to name the album Hide?

Hide - I always say let the music speak, you know. And that’s the main reason why. I hide myself because I wanna let the music speak. That’s my reason.

You worked with a number of awesome collaborators on this album. Besides Paul, you worked with Tommy Lee and Peter Frampton. So who did you enjoy working with the most?

Everyone. Everyone. Everyone because everyone has a different color. And my album is full of new colors. I mean, they’re all good and super fantastic at what they do.

Tell us about the inspiration behind your new single, "All The Girls Around The World?"

You know, we need to celebrate girls, because you girls are girls - You are the center of the world! I mean without girls, who we are?! Come on! Let’s be honest and true now. So we wanted to celebrate girls, and that’s my tribute to girls. Mine and Theophilus.

What was the inspiration behind "Chronicles Of A Fallen Love?"

I met Greta and I thought she was a great, great soul. So we wanted to put together that sadness and anger of a fallen love story, if that makes sense. And then we spent 5 hours together and “Chronicles” was the result of this crazy story.

What kind of music did you listen to growing up?

You know I don’t really classify the music I listen to, and I don’t classify my music too, I just listen to good music. And I think there’s good and bad music. But if you want to classify that I can say, classical, punk, soul, rock, jazz, bossa nova, anything.

Did you have a favorite band or a favorite artist growing up?

When I was young, when I was 14, probably Sex Pistols, and I switch on Bach, and probably I don’t know there’s so many artists that I really really like because I like music.

What's the story behind the mask?

Behind the mask there’s no story. No, I wore it to be focused on music, you know. I don’t give a f**k about being super famous and all that. I mean, I play music – that makes me happy. Everyone can be Bob Rifo. You can be Bob Rifo too, you can be bubbly on stage – who f***ing cares. I mean let the music speak - you know, that’s why I hide myself. And the mask is also good catalyst so you can, you know, bring attention. Because you have the mask and then, people can discover your music through the mask.

What do you like the most about taking your music on the road with you and performing live?

I love interacting with people, it’s incredible experience, one of the most beautiful things of life.

What's the craziest fan interaction you've experienced?

Oh you don’t wanna know that (laughs). It’s a crazy story that I don’t wanna tell you.

Tell us about The Real Church of Noise?

The Real Church Of Noise is a community. It’s like framework, where people share thoughts, music, art, culture, all together. There's a mutual respect. And it’s the perfect virtual community. And it’s based on the same platform as Little Monsters, which is the Lady Gaga’s community. It’s so beautiful to see people interacting and sharing that stuff. It’s my perfect society. https://therealchurchofnoise.com/